I am as entitled and privileged as any other female of my age living outside of a third world country can be.

The worst slights I have encountered in the last few years from society as a whole has been a very subtle ageism that is perhaps only a flavour of the month in my workplace, and may just settle itself in time.

This past week I have suffered greatly with the news of young black men being shot like dogs in the streets.

I cried on and off for days this past month while reflecting upon all the lives stolen away in Orlando.

In my own country, I cannot go an entire eight hour period without seeing an ignorant post about Muslims, or refugees.

Keyboard warriors posting disgusting words in relation to female politicians whose party lines they are in opposition to.

When did we begin turning blind eyes to racist, misogynistic or homophobic behaviour?

To intolerance and hate for those that don’t look like us or live by our beliefs?

When did it become OK for us to shame and blame victims for crimes committed upon them?

Has it been insidiously creeping forward, under cover of darkness while we all slept soundly in our beds? Slithering into our shared consciousness like a virus?

Have we just seen so much brutality and intolerance that we have become frozen inside and simply pick up the remote control and make it go away without feeling or fully processing it?

How can it be that a gorilla receives more sympathy and concern than actual living breathing human beings murdered in the streets by those that we teach our children will protect them?

Racism is not even covert any more; it is loud and proud and very much alive on social media and in the comments sections of local newspapers.

Chants of ” I’m just telling it like it IS” ring out to cheers and “likes”.

“Go home to where you come from if you don’t want to live OUR way”, “stealing all our JOBS”, ” that bitch needs someone to take her head off with an AXE!”,” they were fags in a queer club; God hates fags.”

I have read all those and many more these past few weeks and I am so sick inside at where this world is headed to.

My challenge was to find who I look down upon and it didn’t take me long at all this time.

Those that tear down instead of giving a hand up.

Those that see colour rather than the soul inside.

Those that think some lives are worth less than other lives.

Those that feel offended by different belief systems and religions.

We were all once someone’s child, someone’s baby.

We all have to share this space and planet.

There needs to be a shift in thinking moving forward or we are most certainly doomed.

I know in my very being that there are more of us than there are of them but they are louder and angrier, more violent and vocal.

! can’t scream YES!!! loud enough!!! I did a post tonight about my own reaction to the man killed in St. Paul. I was appalled at my LACK of reaction to seeing that video live streamed on Facebook. But you said everything FAR more eloquently than I ever could have, Shannon. The Martin Niemoller quote is inscribed in the last room in the Holocaust Museum in DC. You can go in there and light a candle for family members. It always gives me the chills when I sit there and read it. I’m drawn back there every time we go to visit out daughter.

Of course we are all feeling the same things. We are all reeling from this and the direction the world is heading into. We know it’s not what was intended for us. 💜
I really love that quote. It moves me to action.

Niemoller, a German Lutheran pastor, didn’t oppose the Nazis when they came to power. He kept quiet for a long time till he just couldn’t stand it anymore. When he finally did begin to speak out they put him in prison for seven years. He lived that quote.